HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 25, 2017)  – After having clinched the number one overall seed for the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Championship, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team welcomes No. 14 Stevenson University to the De Baun Athletic Complex for a key non-conference game and will look to a key trio of players for this important matchup. 

"We are preparing for a very tough Stevenson team," head coach Gene Peluso said. "They have great athletes and are very talented and well-coached. Our guys love playing challenging, out of conference games, and this is a nice addition to our out of conference schedule."

Coach Peluso and staff will look to his trio of 100-point scorers to create offense against the Mustangs: senior Connor McKeon, junior Tommy Dawson, and sophomore Max Bailey. Each player recently reached the career milestone, with Bailey the first to cross 100 points against Hartwick (4/12) and Dawson and McKeon hitting the mark two games ago against Utica.

Bailey, the 2016 Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year, leads the team in points this year with 55 and has scored in every game this season, with a season-high eight against Arcadia in the season opener. He has scored 46 goals with 71 assists over his two-year career.

"Max sas really established himself as the quarterback of our offense," Peluso said. "He has scored at a high level for us since his freshman year. His production has been impressive for only a sophomore."

Dawson was named Honorable Mention All-Empire 8 as a freshman and named to the All-Empire 8 Second Team as a junior. This season, the Virginia Beach, Virginia native has upped his productivity to 39 goals with 12 assists on a team-high 91 shots. Dawson has netted four game-winning goals for the 12-3 Ducks.

"Tommy has been our offensive leader and has played some great games and has scored valuable goals for us," Peluso commented. "He is a true leader and his focus is always on the team's success and not the points he scores. He is a true, selfless player, and is an excellent leader for us."

McKeon was the final member of the high-scoring trio to reach the mark, doing so in the final minutes against Utica. The senior midfielder set a career-high with his 25th goal in Stevens' win over Elmira netted two game-winning goals and is four points away from setting a new career mark in total points in season.

"Connor has been a consistent producer for us,". Peluso shared. "He has an excellent balance to his offensive game: he is an excellent goal scorer, but also has a great ability to feed. Connor has worked hard to become a strong contributor and leader on our offense."

As a team, Stevens ranks 28th in the country in scoring, averaging 14.20 goals per game. Junior John Boutureira eight-goal game against Alfred (3/25) is the fourth-highest single-game total of the season and the Ducks are tied for 21st in the country with 213 goals. 

Coming into tonight's game with a perfect 7-0 record in the MAC Commonwealth Conference, the Mustangs are 10-4 overall and have not lost a league game in four seasons. The team has been ranked in the 116 of the last 117 USILA Top-20 polls. The Mustangs have won the last three games in the series that dates back to the 2007 season.

Led by sophomore attack J.T. Thelen, the Mustangs rank just ahead of the Ducks in offense, ranking 15th in scoring offense (15.43) and 19th in total goals. The team has seen a significant increase in its productivity in the faceoff circle, moving from a 53.8 win percentage in 2016 to a 60.3 win percentage this year. Look for Nicholas Carnovale to be a key contributor in this area to control possession for the Ducks. 

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